Hello, everyone. I know—this isn't the same 5th Chapter I had up before. But, admittedly, that last chapter had sort of spiraled out of my control. I'd been struggling with my studies, so I just sort of…rushed to get anything I could out. I'm in a better position now to give this story the attention it deserves, and I'll certainly be doing so over the next few months. I won't promise any sort of regular update schedule, which might seem bad but it'll also mean I can get more of these types of chapters out more often.
This rewrite follows my original plans much more closely, and instead of a rushed piece, it's been refined for hours on end. I can guarantee you that.
Sorry again to anyone who was looking forward to a continuation of the last C5, I just think I can take the story in a much greater direction as things are now.
Thank you for understanding. I'll stop babbling on about myself now,
Have fun reading!
March is a wondrous month, the first of spring,
And thus sprung the first branches of the pillar.
Jaune Arc turned 15.
—
He adjusted his Haori and took a deep breath. His right hand clenched, and were he permitted, would have already reached for his blade. His heart beat faster than he could possibly imagine, and his whole body felt tense.
"THREE!"
'Calm down, Jaune. It's just a tournament, nothing serious. Nothing serious.'
Despite the mantra, he found himself slowly falling into his usual position. His right foot slid forward, his right arm hovering over his blade. He took a deep breath and hunched forward slightly.
"TWO!"
He adjusted his sight, looking straight at his opponent. Veridian Thorn - well-known tournament fighter, current favorite for top-eight. That meant he was good, seriously good. He was also terrifyingly tall for his age, far taller than Jaune. And he had to fight him in the very first round!
"ONE!"
The arena buzzed with anticipation as the countdown reached its climax.
All stray thoughts immediately fled Jaune, and his legs tensed. No room for distractions, only a split second to focus. His right hand finally made contact with the handle of his katana.
"BEGIN!"
The sounds of cheering from the crowd fell into the background.
Jaune lunged forward, his katana executing a familiar, fluid arc.
'Water surface slash!'
Jaune's katana cleaved through the air, aiming for Veridian Thorn, who stood tall and unyielding, his own battle instincts kicking into gear. With a fluid grace, Veridian managed to step back just enough so that the blade wouldn't reach him.
In the blink of an eye, he pressed forward for a counterattack, his eyes brimming with confidence. He lunged forward, delivering a powerful right hook with his spiked gauntlets that Jaune only barely managed to evade by dodging under it. Jaune prepared to immediately attack once more, but Veridian had been in this situation before - he quickly kicked out, hoping to catch Jaune in the stomach with a knee.
Jaune brought his katana forward, acting as a makeshift barrier between himself and the knee, and Jaune could feel the impact reverberating through his arms. Jaune stepped to the side, and with a deft spin, was attempting to disengage from his opponent.
Veridian attempted to capitalize on this by launching another attack, but Jaune had brought his katana up as he spun, allowing the momentum to carry his blade into an attack, Jaune's blade scraped by Veridian's Aura as they passed by each other, and Jaune having successfully disengaged.
Jaune quickly took a step back, creating some breathing room for himself and his opponent. He was at an advantage reach-wise, as his Katana would reach farther than Veridian's Gauntlets. That was good - he could use that. Veridian seemed to have a good eye for counters, and he was definitely an experienced fighter. But, he wasn't Slate Arc by any stretch of the imagination, so Jaune figured he was…doable.
The brief respite both Jaune and Veridian had enjoyed had quickly come to an end when Veridian went on the offensive, lunging forward with a left jab. Immediately, Jaune dodged to his left only to find himself being met with a kick. He only had a split second to bring his Katana up to defend against the kick…and then the kick went low.
A crushing low kick was delivered to Jaune's ankle, and he could only thank oum for Aura, because the pain was ridiculous. Normally, Jaune would disengage here, but to buy time for his left leg to quickly heal up, Jaune stepped forward before jumping into the air, bringing his Katana down in an overhead slash as he flipped forward.
'Water Wheel!'
It was a move Jaune had only ever used sparingly in training with his father, a technique he had always found challenging. Yet, in this intense battle against Veridian, it felt like the perfect moment to employ it. As Jaune executed the Water Wheel, his blade arced through the air, aimed at Veridian with a determination to turn the tide of the battle in his favor.
Veridian had initially anticipated Jaune would disengage after the low kick. His follow-up left hook was poised to exploit that perceived opening, but Jaune had other plans. In a bold and surprising move, Jaune executed the Water Wheel, bringing his blade down in a powerful vertical slash.
Veridian's instincts kicked in, and despite the shock of the unexpected attack, he displayed impressive dexterity. With a swift step backward, he managed to avoid the brunt of the overhead slash, positioning himself just enough to utilize his gauntlets for defense.
The sound of metal clashing against metal rang out in the arena as Jaune's Katana met Veridian's Gauntlets with a resounding impact. The force of the clash sent ripples throughout the arena, and both boys were sent flying backwards.
It took them only a moment after landing to once more lunge towards each other, each more determined to come out on top over the other.
And here began the fierce exchange of blows; a horizontal slash blocked by gauntlets, a left straight dodged and a right kick blocked, a thrust of the katana barely dodged.
To the audience, it appeared these two fighters were evenly matched.
To Veridian, he felt like he truly had a shot at winning this match.
To Jaune…to Jaune, it was only time to show off his true capabilities. Evenly matched as they were, they would get nowhere like this, and so Jaune began to breathe.
In an instant, his world shifted. Veridian felt goosebumps appear all over his body as his opponent simply began to radiate strength.
And, in but an instant, Jaune was once more standing in front of Veridian his Katana already in motion for a vertical slash. Veridian's instincts kicked in, and he hastily raised his gauntlets to defend against the impending vertical slash.
But Jaune's newfound strength was astonishing, and it left Veridian with little time to react. The impact of the clash sent Veridian flying through the air, his body tumbling uncontrollably before he even had a chance to regain his bearings
Before he had a moment to land - before he had a moment to reorient himself, Jaune seemed to blur forward, reappearing right above Veridian, with an overhead slash crashing down onto him. Veridian was launched into the arena ground, and Jaune landed on top of him, his foot on his chest and his Katana to Veridian's neck.
Then, staring down his opponent, Jaune spoke.
"Yield."
Veridian, overwhelmed and recognizing the undeniable strength and skill Jaune had displayed, felt frustration surge within him. He had never felt so outmatched, at least not by anyone within his age group. There was no other option, no escape from this current situation.
With a sigh of resignation, Veridian conceded, "I... yield."
With a flourish, Jaune withdrew his katana from its perilous position near Veridian's neck and smoothly sheathed it once more. The crowd remained in rapt attention, witnessing the swift shift from battle to camaraderie.
Jaune extended his hand toward his opponent, his face breaking into a genuine smile, a sign of respect and sportsmanship.
"That was a good fight, man!" Jaune exclaimed, his words brimming with admiration for Veridian's skills and a genuine appreciation for the challenge he had just faced.
Veridian, still catching his breath and coming to terms with the defeat, couldn't help but return Jaune's smile.
With a nod of gratitude, he accepted Jaune's outstretched hand, "Good fight."
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! JAUNE ARC, IN A SHOCKING DISPLAY OF PROWESS, HAS COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY TAKEN HIS FIRST FIGHT AGAINST VERIDIAN THORN! Keep your eyes on this young fellow, because I can see him going FAR in the Vale Regionals! With this, Jaune Arc has made it to the round of 32!"
Jaune's heart was beating hard, excitement running through his veins as he and his opponent exited the stage. The deafening roar of the crowd, chanting his name and celebrating his victory, filled his ears. He couldn't help but grin from ear to ear, his heart swelling with pride and accomplishment. It was a moment he had worked tirelessly for.
Jaune and his opponent walked into different entrances, both having their own resting areas.
He made his way through a large hall and took the first door to the left. As he pushed open the door he was suddenly brought into a hug by his father.
"Hahaha! That was incredible, Jaune! You pulled off the Water Wheel, twice!"
Slate's hug radiated with pride, mirroring the smile on his face. Jaune couldn't help but return the embrace. This hug was a comforting reminder that his dad would be behind him, no matter what.
"Thanks, Dad," Jaune replied, grinning as he pulled away from the hug. "It was a tough match! Veridian is really good at countering."
His father nodded knowingly. "I know, but you've practiced far too hard to lose to that. You haven't even shown all you can do either — you'll do great, Jaune."
"But — there were some instances where you could have done things better. Come here, I've got the footage for your match already; let's review it."
Jaune nodded. He'd already figured his father was going to do some post-match analysis.
"But first, something I've noted. You're far too honest in your attacks, Jaune. Remember what we practiced, feints. You should know how effective they are, hell, that was the only way Veridian caught you. You did great, but you can be better. Come on, let's review."
"Alright, Dad." Jaune followed his father to a corner of the room, where a large screen was set up. Slate quickly pulled up the footage of the match he had just watched live in the arena. The video began to play out in front of them.
"Your next match is in a couple of hours, so we'll spend em' keeping you smart. Look here - you see this part where you hit him with the first water wheel? You would've been better off with a Water Surface Slash - it achieves a similar result without, you know, putting you in the vulnerable position of in the air."
The next couple of hours passed by quickly, with Jaune receiving a fairly detailed critique from his father on what he could have done better.
Once again, Jaune found himself on the field. This time his opponent was a woman known as Cyan Winthorpe, whom he had significantly less information on. She was a first-timer for this tournament, same as him, so it was impossible to find any information on her before the fight.
It was all the same, anyway- he'd have to figure her out as they fought. At the very least, he knew he was also a mystery to her.
"THREE!"
The cheers from the crowd seemed to rise at that, readying themselves for another incredible fight.
'Whatever.'
Mystery or not, he just needed to win. The uncertainty of the battle only added to the thrill, and Jaune was determined to make this fight a memorable one
"TWO!"
Jaune's right foot slid forward, his back hunched forward slightly, and his right arm hovering over his blade. He would approach this fight aggressively - he wanted to take control of the fight as soon as possible.
"ONE!"
With the cheers of the crowd rising to a crescendo, their anticipation was palpable. Jaune felt adrenaline shoot through his veins, and his legs tensed as the announcer counted them down.
"BEGIN!"
Jaune launched forward, his katana already in motion. This time, it was a simple horizontal slash as opposed to what he'd usually do.
The arena seemed to vibrate with energy as Jaune's katana cut through the air with a practiced motion. His horizontal slash was swift and precise, a testament to his training and resolve.
Cyan, however, was incredibly agile, and by the time Jaune had reached her had already stepped out of the way. In a moment, her gun blades were pointing at him.
This counterattack, Jaune quickly realized, was not going to be an easy one. He adjusted his stance, recognizing that his opponent possessed a level of skill and agility that he had not expected.
Yet, the shot never came. Cyan, remained calm and collected. She seemed to be studying Jaune, her cyan eyes focused and analytical as she assessed his fighting style.
This fight…could be seriously difficult if he let it run for too long. There was no point in not using all of his resources, and so Jaune began to breathe.
The world around him slowed, and he felt a surge of strength well up in his body. In a moment, he - as he did before - disappeared in a blur, only to reappear right in front of Cyan.
Except…Cyan didn't appear flustered. Instead, she calmly stepped back, and Jaune couldn't help but marvel as a barrier of ice began to form in front of him.
'So her semblance is to quite literally…create ice constructs?'
It was too early to tell, but if that was it, he'd have to seriously be careful around her. It was time to test if the barrier was truly strong enough to stop him though. Jaune let his blade fly forward, his blade coming into contact with the Ice Barrier and cleaving it into two.
'Water Surface Slash!'
The ice seemed to shatter and fade away as if it wasn't ever there. Cyan's eyes locked onto Jaune, her gaze still analytical and focused, as if she were gauging his skill and adaptability.
In a blur of movement, Jaune materialized before Cyan, his katana poised at his side, ready for action. The young man took a step forward, and just as Cyan anticipated his approach, she calmly stepped back once more. Once again, she relied on her Semblance to create a protective barrier of ice around her.
Cyan watched calmly, wondering what her opponent might do now. Would he simply break through the ice?
But Jaune had other plans. With a sudden, explosive leap, he vaulted above Cyan's icy barrier, as if defying gravity. It seemed as though he were flying toward her, his katana thrust forward with determined precision.
It seemed she couldn't watch or analyze any longer. Cyan pulled her gun blades up, and began shooting at Jaune as he flew towards her in the air.
A series of gunshots rang out, the sound echoing in the arena as Cyan opened fire. The bullets streaked through the air, aimed directly at Jaune, who was in mid-air. Panic surged through him as he attempted to deflect the incoming projectiles, his katana a blur of motion.
Each deflection sent sparks flying as Jaune struggled to protect himself while maintaining his trajectory, but his attacking threat was crushed in mere moments. It was impossible for Jaune to block every bullet mid-air, and a few had already impacted and grazed his Aura.
This wasn't great - Cyan took the first clean hit. But that was fine. He could do this.
Cyan had some great defense. Jaune was struggling to find a proper gap to exploit, and the only way he could see to guarantee a win was to pump himself chock full of Aura and simply overpower her. But that just didn't sit right with him. It was also far too wasteful for him to accept doing; he still had the following fights to worry about, after all.
Well, he could certainly do something. He just wasn't sure if it would succeed. For the third time this match, Jaune Arc seemed to blur forward, once more reappearing near Cyan. In a moment, she was executing the same move she used to consistently avoid Jaune. A step backward, paired with forming an Ice Barrier.
This time, though, Jaune simply let his blade fly towards the bottom of the ice barrier. His blade impacted the barrier and cut through it in one clean slice, and before it could fall, Jaune's leg shot out in a kick - hitting the barrier and sending it toward Cyan.
This was the first time Cyan had had to really move, something she couldn't predict. And so, Cyan found herself sidestepping to the right of the barrier of ice…directly into an attack from Jaune. In the second Cyan had sidestepped the barrier, she'd lost sight of Jaune.
With a surge of Aura-infused energy, he sprinted forward and appeared right beside her in the blink of an eye, his katana arcing in a horizontal slash toward her neck. Cyan's reflexes, which had been impressive throughout the match, were now put to the test. She attempted to react swiftly, but the suddenness of Jaune's move left her with minimal time to counter.
Cyan brought her gun blades up in an attempt to catch Jaune's katana moments before impact…but his katana simply went lower, and in a fraction of a second, his katana struck her squarely in the abdomen, inflicting significant damage to her Aura.
The impact of the blow was forceful, sending Cyan hurtling through the air. She crashed onto the arena floor, her Aura visibly weakened. She lay there, momentarily stunned by the powerful strike, but not defeated.
It took her all but a moment to get back up and recover before Jaune was once again directly in front of her, his blade bearing down on her.
She hastily brought her gun blades up, just barely catching Jaune's Katana. In an instant, Cyan attempted to form an Ice Barrier, the beginnings of one forming near her feet before Jaune seemed to suddenly kick out, his leg impacting her abdomen.
The shock of the blow disrupted the formation of the Ice Barrier, leaving Cyan vulnerable. Jaune took advantage of this momentary opening, stepping forward, his blade coming down once more. Cyan's Aura, already weakened by the previous attack, absorbed the impact but was further damaged by Jaune's relentless assault.
Panic began to creep into Cyan's eyes as she struggled to defend against Jaune's relentless onslaught. He pressed his advantage, delivering another powerful slash that pierced through her considerably weakened defenses, dealing another significant blow to her already battered Aura.
Cyan's strength waned, and it became increasingly challenging for her to maintain her stance. The toll of Jaune's relentless attacks was evident, leaving her defenseless and vulnerable.
It was not long before Jaune executed the decisive move, a final slash that sent Cyan tumbling to the ground. In the blink of an eye, his blade was poised at her neck, the match hanging in the balance.
Similarly to how his first fight had ended, Jaune would stare Cyan down, his eyes radiating confidence. Thus, the first word between the two fighters was spoken.
"Yield."
And then came the second.
"I-I yield."
With a smile and a flourish, Jaune sheathed his katana, signifying the end of their battle. He then extended his hand to help Cyan to her feet.
"Your Ice Barriers were seriously tough!" Jaune praised, his admiration for her skills evident.
"That was a great fight!"
"Thanks. You're pretty tough too." Cyan replied with a smile on her face, and her acknowledgment genuine despite the visible fatigue in her eyes.
Though it was evident that the smile didn't quite reach her eyes, Jaune and Cyan once more left the field.
"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, HE'S DONE IT ONCE AND HE'S DONE IT AGAIN!" the announcer declared with excitement. "ALL-OUT AGGRESSION OR LAID-BACK COUNTERING, THIS YOUNG MAN CAN DO IT ALL! WITH THIS, JAUNE ARC PROGRESSES TO THE ROUND OF 16 OF THE VALEEEE REGIONAL TOURNAMENT!"
The deafening cheers from the arena still echoed in Jaune's ears as he made his way back to his designated rest area. But as he approached, the guard stationed at the door shook his head. "You're done for the day, kid."
Jaune frowned, confused.
"Where am I meant to go to get rest for my next match, then?"
The guard let out a laugh, "Raring to go, aren't ya? You've not got another match today, lad. Your next is meant to be tomorrow. You've only got two matches a day."
The guard then pointed upwards at a sign that Jaune simply hadn't really given any attention to. Why would he? He was just going to get some rest, as usual.
"Just follow the signs, right? You'll find your way to the arena's hotel. You'll figure everything else out there."
Jaune nodded in thanks and began to make his way in the indicated direction. The halls were fairly empty, a nice surprise, and the signs were rather straightforward, which meant Jaune managed to find his way to the arena's hotel pretty easily.
The hotel lobby was fairly packed, with fighters settling in and exchanging stories about their matches. Jaune found a spot to sit and take a breather, gazing around at the diverse group of competitors. There were a couple of familiar faces among the crowd, but he couldn't really see Cyan or-
A voice suddenly broke through the buzz of conversation. "You were pretty impressive, my guy!"
Jaune turned his head to see a tall, well-built figure making his way toward him, a confident smile on his face. It was none other than Veridian Thorn, his first-round opponent. Jaune couldn't help but feel a mix of surprise and awkwardness, but he offered a friendly smile in return.
"Ah…Veridian, right? You're pretty strong yourself."
Veridian chuckled and extended his hand for a handshake.
"Thanks for the compliments friend, but I can only hope to be like you one day."
Jaune shook Veridian's hand, the tension from their match slowly fading away.
"I've been training for this for…quite a while. My dad's mostly to thank for anything you've seen from me."
Veridian's eyes sparkled with curiosity. "Your dad, huh? He must be quite the fighter. When I'm strong enough, I think I'd like to try a fight against whoever that may be…of course, only after I win our rematch."
Jaune raised an eyebrow, a competitive spark lighting up in his eyes. "Not in a million years," he replied, a grin spreading across his face.
"Just you wait! I hope you'll be coming to next year's regional — because I won't lose that one!"
They found a quiet corner in the lobby and settled in, their conversation flowing naturally as if they were old friends catching up.
"Hey, Veridian?"
"Yeah?"
"What brought you to become a tournament fighter? I know this isn't your first attempt, right?"
Veridian leaned back, his closed his eyes, scanning the memories of his journey so far. His left hand comes up to scratch his head as he attempts to come up with a singular reason.
"I can't totally say. It just kind of…happened. I've always been a really good fighter, you see — and my family used to struggle to make ends meet. I figured if I could become a tournament fighter — a really, truly good tournament fighter, I could lighten the load on my parents."
"That's pretty noble of you, Veridian."
"Yeah, but it's not the only reason either. I also just really…enjoy fighting. I love the thrill of being locked into a battle, of meeting new opponents - of meeting people who can just…negate your whole skill set so you have to come up with a whole new way of fighting them- it's all just so…fun."
Veridian's eyes shone with passion as he spoke, his enthusiasm infectious. Jaune couldn't help but smile at his display of passion.
"I know what you mean. That feeling when you're fighting somebody completely new, where the winner depends on who figures who out first — it's amazing."
"Exactly! The thrill of figuring out your opponent, or the despair of being figured out; the strength you didn't know you had, or the tricks you had no idea you could pull off. All the training - everything is put to the test!"
Veridian's expression darkens momentarily, "Though it seems my efforts weren't enough this time, they will be next time. Mark my words, Jaune - I'll be seeing you for a rematch, and I will not lose."
"I'll be waiting for that rematch, Veridian. But don't expect it to be easy," Jaune said with a grin.
Veridian's expression lightens with a laugh, "That's good! I love a challenge. I'll see you later, Jaune. I've gotta get myself checked out now, peace!"
"See you later, Veridian."
After Jaune bid Veridian farewell, another figure seemed to show up and take his place. As Jaune looked over, he found himself facing his father.
There was a momentary sternness in his gaze as he regarded Jaune, a fatherly concern etched into his features.
"Hey, dad," Jaune greeted him with a hint of trepidation.
His father's voice was laced with a hint of reprimand as he began, "I told you, explicitly, to not just jump into the air for your attacks like that. You took an unnecessary hit."
Jaune lowered his gaze, acknowledging the mistake he had made. "I know, Dad. It was reckless. I just got caught up in the heat of the moment."
"And you're lucky that your opponent this time was overly analytical of you. You've got the skill, the training and the knowledge to not let yourself fall into a situation like that again. That aside…"
Slate's face finally broke into a prideful grin, "I knew you'd win, Jaune. Now come along, we'll review the footage of your second match today - and you'd better get some rest for tomorrow. Your last two fights were pretty easy - no matter what you say, they were - and your next fights will carry a different weight from now on."
Jaune followed Slate in the hotel lobby, both of them walking up to the desk to check in for the day. All in all, it had been a fairly good set of matches today.
He could only hope tomorrow would be as easy.
That night, he slept like a rock.
Today was the day of his match - his match in the round of 16. If he won this match, he'd officially enter the top eight as a complete random who just…showed up.
Though maybe just showed up is a bit of an understatement. Jaune only managed to get his place in the 64 challengers of this year's Vale Regional through his father's vouching. Apparently, his father had been seriously high up in the food chain before retiring, so his word held a lot of weight.
Given that the Slate Arc was vouching for him, Jaune figured he was actually a bigger target than not. At least, to anyone who knew. It wasn't really a publicized matter.
Regardless, none of that mattered now as he stared his opponent down.
Here he was, once again standing in the same arena.
"THREE!"
The countdown has begun. His opponent this time was Granite Storm. From what he knew about Granite, he was a fairly aggressive fighter - and he hadn't really gotten to see much from watching his matches last night in the hotel room.
Granite seemed to take his opponents down too quickly for Jaune to get anything really concrete on him or his semblance. This made life slightly difficult.
"TWO!"
But that difficulty is what makes life fun. This wouldn't be his first difficult fight, and it certainly wouldn't be his last.
Jaune's right foot slid forward, his right arm came to hover just above his blade, and he hunched forward slightly. As usual, he could slide into his stance with no trouble.
His opponent seemed to have the same idea, having positioned himself into a runner's start, with a spear in hand. The predatory glint in Granite's grey eyes only lit an ember in Jaune's heart, and he was truly prepared to go all out from the start.
"ONEEE!"
Jaune chose that moment to start to breathe. The world around him stood still.
"BEGIN!"
The world around Jaune blurred as he lunged toward his Granite, and for once, the arena truly came to life.
Jaune and Granite closed the gap between them at breakneck speed, meeting at the center of the arena in an explosive collision.
As Granite made his move, thrusting forward with his spear, Jaune's reflexes took over. In a swift and fluid motion, he dodged to the left, narrowly avoiding the thrust of the spear. The weapon whizzed past him, its whooshing sound echoing through the arena.
With his lightning-quick dodge of Granite's spear thrust, Jaune wasted no time in transitioning to his own offense. The momentum of his dodge seamlessly flowed into a powerful horizontal slash. His blade, like an extension of his will, cut through the air toward Granite's midsection.
With a well-timed movement, Granite positioned his spear to parry Jaune's attack effectively. Their weapons collided with a resounding clang, and Jaune's blade was deflected just in time.
Granite didn't miss a beat, using the momentum of the parry to launch a swift counterattack. He thrust his spear forward, aiming for an opening in Jaune's defenses.
Jaune's diagonal cut came in a flash, a calculated move executed with precision. His blade sliced through the air, aiming to inflict a great deal of damage to Granite. As Granite deftly parried Jaune's diagonal cut, he quickly capitalized on the momentum, stepping in close to launch a powerful kick at Jaune's midsection.
Jaune found himself forced to leap backward to avoid the kick, putting himself out of range of attack. The only problem was that a spear had a considerably larger range than a sword, so he'd have to force the fight to stay in close quarters, but Granite wasn't such a novice that Jaune could just simply step into range.
Before he could continue to think of what to do next, Jaune had to jump back to avoid a sweeping slash by Granite's spear.
"What's the matter, Jaune? Scared!?"
"Hardly!"
He followed his statement up by lunging towards Granite, his blade poised for a diagonal strike. Granite was quick to respond. He used the length of his spear to keep Jaune at bay, poking at him with precision, forcing Jaune to dodge and halting his attack in its tracks.
"Come on, Jaune! You've hardly been coming close at all! Need some help?!"
Jaune grunted in acknowledgment of the statement, before lunging forward once more - his blade once more poised for a diagonal slash.
"That's too simple, Jaune!"
Once more, Granite poked at Jaune with his spear to stop Jaune's attack, but Jaune had anticipated it this time. With fluid grace, he executed a spin, maneuvering around the spear, and delivered his slash with incredible speed.
Granite, though narrowly sidestepping the slashing strike, found himself in close quarters, a disadvantageous position for his weapon. He attempted to jump back to create some space and regain his advantage.
However, Jaune was relentless. He refused to give Granite any breathing room. Wherever Granite moved, Jaune was right there, effectively nullifying Granite's attempt to gain distance.
Jaune pressed his advantage with a relentless assault. His slashes came one after the other, each aimed at Granite. Granite was forced to use the shaft of his spear to deflect or parry each of Jaune's attacks, his defenses holding firm, but under immense pressure.
This would be a battle of endurance at this rate - whoever ran out of breath first would find themselves losing…
That is, until Granite pumped his legs chock full of Aura and for the first time since the fight started activated his semblance.
He jumped a great distance backward, creating a great deal of space and in the process leaving a trail of lightning behind him. The lightning meant Jaune couldn't just casually follow him, having allowed Granite to create distance once more.
Jaune took a moment to assess his options. He needed some way to corner Granite again, and he needed to catch him before he ran off with his semblance again. Otherwise, the only thing waiting for him would be a loss.
Jaune seriously didn't want to lose.
This time Granite went on the offensive, jumping towards Jaune once more. He attacked with a sweeping slash once more, hoping to catch Jaune with the length of the spear.
He leaped to the side, narrowly avoiding Granite's sweeping attack. The spear whizzed past him, its deadly reach only just missing its target. The spear seemed to double back with twice as much speed and strength, and it was all Jaune could do to bring his katana up and deflect the attack.
The two weapons clashed with a resounding clang, and Jaune could feel the immense force behind Granite's attack. It took all of his strength to hold his ground and prevent the spear from breaking through his defenses.
Granite's aggression was just as relentless as Jaune's had been, leaving Jaune to deflect and parry as many strikes as he possibly could. Every muscle in Jaune's body screamed with effort as he strained to maintain his defense. His breathing was taking too much of a toll on him to keep this up forever — he had to find a way to win.
Jaune searched for something, anything. Anything to get Granite off his back, or anything he could close the distance with. He could use full enhancement, but that was far too wasteful to be used now. If he failed while using that…it would leave him with no other options, and he'd have to yield.
He didn't want to yield.
So Jaune wracked his brains as much as he possibly could while deflecting attacks. And finally, finally he noticed something. Granite was slowing down. He was…he was getting tired. He wasn't moving half as much, and his footwork had clearly deteriorated.
This was his chance.
As Granite lunged forward with another attack, Jaune deftly deflected it with newfound strength. The impact of their weapons clashing reverberated through the arena, and it was now Jaune's turn to seize the moment.
A fire burning in his eyes, Jaune stepped forward, closing the distance between him and Granite in an instant. His katana sliced through the air with precision and power, aimed at Granite's midsection.
'Water Surface Slash!'
Granite's fatigue had impacted him greatly, but not quite enough that he couldn't manage to block the attack. He skillfully used the shaft of his spear to block Jaune's attack, their weapons clashing with a resounding clang.
But Jaune wasn't done there, no. Jaune doubled the Aura he had been forcing into his arms, and with strength he didn't have before, had managed to cut through Granite's spear and land a clean hit on Granite.
"Gh..!"
A pained grunt escaped Granite's lips as he stumbled backward, thrown off balance by the force of Jaune's attack. It was the opening Jaune had been waiting for. Jaune blurred forward, his katana stopping at Granite's neck.
"Yield!"
Granite, dejected, dropped the two broken parts of his weapon. What use was there fighting with a broken weapon?
"I yield."
Granite's voice was heavy with defeat as he admitted to his loss.
With the same practiced flourish, Jaune re-sheathed his katana.
"You were a good fight, Granite."
The only sign Granite had even heard him was the answering grunt he had received as Granite moodily stomped away.
"WITH THAT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, OUR FINAL QUARTER FINALIST HAS BEEN DECIDED! JAUNE ARC HAS JUST OFFICIALLY STEPPED INTO THE QUARTER-FINALS! WITH ANOTHER STRONG PERFORMANCE, JAUNE IS CERTAINLY SETTING HIMSELF UP TO BE A FAVORITE TO WIN IT ALL! I'll SEE YOU ALL IN A FEW HOURS, FOR THE VALE. REGIONAL. QUARTER. FINALSSS!"
The announcer's voice echoed through the arena as Jaune took in the cheers and applause from the crowd.
Jaune could only grin as he exited the arena and made his way back to his usual resting area, where he once again found his father.
"Jaune! That was a good performance. There wasn't anything wrong glaringly obvious in your fight this time, but we should still review this footage - your next opponent is going to be a tricky one, Jaune."
"How so?"
"Your next opponent is somebody who's fairly well-known in the Vale circuit, in fact- they were a semi-finalist last year. Get over here, we'll go over this as quickly as possible to maximize your chances of winning."
"Right!"
"You'll see here he's actually similar to the guy you just fought - except he fights with daggers rather than a spear. His mental is actually pretty poor, but people rarely see it because his speed is too formidable for people to dominate him. If you can, get in his head. But his speed and utilization of his shortswords aren't something that can be ignored - this might be the first opponent who's massively faster than you, so you've got to take this one seriously from the get-go. I mean, fully seriously, enhance your legs from the get-go — you'll be-"
Slate slapped Jaune on the head to get him to focus, "Listen to me when I'm talking, you brat!"
"Gah! You don't have to hit me so hard! I've got a match in three hours, and you're sabotaging me!"
The next three hours were spent analyzing Jaune's opponent in as detailed a manner as possible.
"OUR LAST MATCH DECIDED, AND THE FIRST QUARTERFINAL MATCH TO BE FOUGHT! JAUNE ARC, THE STEADFAST WARRIOR, OR JETT IRONCLAD, THE SPEEDSTER?"
Jett Ironclad.
A name that was feared among tournament competitors - a fighter so fast, he wins most of his fights in mere seconds. One of this year's favorites to win it all. He was so well known that he was actually a favorite to place in the Continent Clashes.
That's why Jaune couldn't afford to hold anything back anymore. He was at the point where he simply couldn't survive with the augment of his breathing alone. He needed more. He needed to enhance.
…But that itself came with some risks. Jaune was incomparably stronger now to how he was, a year ago, but he was certain his Aura density simply wasn't strong enough to take the strain of both breathing and enhancing at the same time for too long. It simply presented too much strain.
"THREE!"
So, he came up with a plan with his father. He'd start out with both, but he would only ever enhance his legs in short boosts. Nothing too complex. Just so he could catch up, or catch him off-guard by changing his tempo.
Jett was pretty well-known to be an aggressive fighter, so he'd most likely start this fight off by lunging towards him. He just had to stall - figure him out. If he could figure him out…the match would be over.
"TWO!"
His right foot slid forward, and his right arm moved to hover over his blade. He hunched forward slightly.
He cleared his head. He had a plan, all he had to do was stick to it.
"ONE!"
With only a second left, Jaune began to prepare enhancing his legs, already picturing a chunk of his Aura moving towards his legs.
"BEGIN!"
In an instant, Jaune began to breathe. In the next, Jaune began pouring Aura into his legs, and then…he launched.
Jaune blurred forward, and his katana sang through the air, aiming for Jett's head in a swift diagonal slash. But Jett's reflexes were just as fast as he was. He twisted his body, the twin shortswords dancing like a liquid in his hands, and deflected Jaune's attack, the blades meeting with a metallic ring.
In response, Jett countered with a rapid flurry of strikes. A slash from the left that Jaune deflected using his katana, another from the right that Jaune danced around with his footwork. Like clockwork, another attack followed, both swords moving towards Jaune in tandem.
A burst of Aura flew into his legs and Jaune could fluidly dodge out of the way of the shortswords with no issue.
Jett lunged forward, his right shortsword coming forward for a slash at Jaune's body. Jaune stepped back, narrowly avoiding the attack. But Jett's speed was relentless. He spun on his heels, bringing his left shortsword around in a low arc.
Another burst of Aura flew into Jaune's legs, and once more he jumped out of the way of the shortswords.
Jett continued his relentless attack, lunging towards Jaune with another spin, bringing his leg up for a kick to his head. Jaune leaned backward as far as he could, just barely avoiding the strike.
Without missing a beat, Jaune sent a powerful thrust towards Jett's chest. The Katana sliced through the air, missing its mark by less than an inch as Jett danced out of the way with some incredible footwork.
Jaune immediately followed up by stepping forward and bringing his sword down in a vertical slash. Jett took a step back, and immediately backflipped out of the way of the attack. Jaune's blade cut through the empty air, a thin, fading trace of water following the Katana.
Jett landed on his feet, immediately springing into action. He dashed forward, his shortswords bearing down on Jaune in a relentless fashion. With every deflection Jaune made, Jett seemed to only get faster.
One unlucky deflection later, Jett's left shortsword landed a large hit. It took Jaune all but a moment to pump his legs chock full of Aura to jump backward. It was then that Jaune noticed…the attack- it was fast. But it didn't hurt. Not all that badly, anyway.
Jett was fast, but he just didn't pack that much of a punch. At least, not to Jaune.
That was good - that meant he had time to figure him out. Up close.
Once more, Jaune filled his legs with a burst of Aura and blurred toward Jett. His katana cut through the air with a terrifying intensity, aimed straight for Jett's chest. As Jett sidestepped Jaune's initial thrust aimed at his chest, Jaune seemed to flow into his next move. He lunged forward with remarkable speed and control. His katana carved a path of swift and deadly precision as it sliced through the air with a menacing edge, aimed at Jett's neck.
Jett's speed allowed him to evade the strike with no problem, but Jaune didn't miss a beat; he maintained his forward momentum, like a relentless tempest.
A quick spin later, Jaune's blade once more sang through the air, aiming for Jett's midsection. With practiced ease, Jett continued to sidestep Jaune's attacks, his expression never shifting. Still in motion, Jaune executed a powerful diagonal slash, his katana cutting an arc of water through the air, as Jaune seemed to start…seeing where Jett would be next.
The longer the fight went, the easier it was for Jaune to read Jett's flow — and the closer he was to winning. Blurring forward, Jaune's katana slashed through the air with a terrifying intensity, aimed straight for Jett's chest. Jett's swift sidestep was executed flawlessly, avoiding the deadly thrust, but Jaune had already anticipated that.
Which is why a brief adjustment to the blade's course had Jett's eyes widening, as he scrambled to dodge and allowed Jaune to score a graze on Jett.
Jaune felt his face light up in a grin. A graze wasn't much, but progress was progress. Next step, score a clean hit!
Jett lunged forward, and his shortswords danced a deadly dance. A strike from the left parried, a thrust sidestepped - a diagonal slash countered by a backstep, a slash to the neck - dodged under. Jett's swords would simply go faster and faster until they were nothing but blurs even to Jaune's eyes.
But Jaune could feel where they'd land. Jaune could see the pattern - he could see the flow behind Jett's attacks. Before Jett's attacks were even complete, Jaune was completely out of the way or in motion to deflect.
A slash from both directions at once, yet Jaune had already moved out of the way. All it took was a couple of steps back in advance, and he was simply out of range. Jett's swords had reached their peak - the speed of his attacks increased no further. And yet…and yet.
His sword strikes refused to reach Jaune. It was as if this were a play and he was fighting the playwright. His sword, no matter how fast.
Slash from the left, aiming at his midsection. That damned Katana is already up, deflecting it.
A slash from the right, aiming at his legs - of course, he's already miles away.
A spin into a high-kick, aiming for his head - he'd been leaning back well before the motion occurred.
Just…just how far could he see?!
No matter how fast, no matter how many attacks he'd throw at Jaune — nothing seemed to work anymore. Every sword strike seemed to only build his frustration further and further.
Jett…Jett had never been confronted by such a situation before. He was faster, he was clearly faster. And yet, nothing he did could get through Jaune's defense.
It simply didn't make any sense.
With a step, Jaune lunged forward, his blade coming down in a vertical slash, and Jett…he sidestepped to the left of the attack, only to find himself meeting Jaune's blade in a diagonal slash.
I…I can't win against someone who can see my attacks.
Jaune's katana landed cleanly on Jett's chest, cutting into his Aura with a heavy hit. The attack was strong enough that it ended up with Jett thrown onto his back, his blades out of his hands.
And yet, before Jaune could even come close -
"I yield."
Jett Ironclad gave up.
Jaune paused midway, his blade stopping as Jett admitted defeat before Jaune had even placed his katana to his neck.
Though confused, Jaune decided to simply sheath his Katana.
"AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! IN THE BATTLE OF THE BLADE THAT CANNOT BE SEEN, AND THE BLADE THAT SEES ALL, THE BLADE THAT SEES ALL HAS WON! JAUNE ARC IS YOUR FIRST VALE REGIONAL SEMI-FINALIST AND THE VERY FIRST ENTRY INTO THIS YEAR'S CONTINENTAL CLASH! JAUNE ARC ADVANCES TO THE SEMI-FINALS! MAKE SURE YOU TUNE IN TO-"
For the first time in this tournament, Jaune didn't speak to his opponent and simply headed out of the arena. He was far too exhausted to talk right now. What he needed was sleep.
Jaune made his way through the halls once more, quietly entering the hotel lobby and painstakingly making his way up the stairs to the room he shared with his father. As he approached the door, the door swung open only for Jaune to see the pridefully grinning visage of his father.
"Now that is what I'm talking about, Jaune! That's one hell of a good job out there!"
"…Yeah, thanks, Dad."
Slate's grin softened into a smile as he saw his son wobble into the room and collapse onto his bed.
"Seems like you're a bit tired, my boy. We'll talk in the morning. You can have your beauty sleep for tonight. You'll do great."
"Mm. Thanks, Dad."
Moments later, Jaune was soundly asleep in his bed.
A few hours before his next match…
"Alright, Jaune. It's time for us to go over your opponent's tape one last time, okay? We'll come up with a flexible strategy that you can choose to discard if you must. Let's get to it."
The screen in front of them lit up, and a video was already open. It was a video of his opponent, Mauve Windmere.
"Mauve Windmere is a rather unusual opponent - not someone you'd have any experience against. She doesn't use any sort of conventional weapon, opting for an enhanced dust-infused whip. Her primary method of attack, as seen in the video here,"
Slate presses the play button on the video, allowing the video to play out.
In the video, Mauve was constantly on the run, keeping herself at a distance from her opponent. Her opponent was a large man who wielded a mace. Mauve's first attack ended up allowing her whip to coil around his bicep.
"Is through the use of lightning dust combined with her whip to shock her opponents."
Mauve visibly pressed a button on her whip, and lightning began to run through the tip of her whip, which was currently wrapped around her opponent. Her opponent seemed to stagger for a moment before he found the strength to continue attacking.
She was pretty visibly faster than her opponent though, something to take note of. She didn't seem particularly fast - he was certain he could probably match her speed without going to the same measures as he'd gone to the last match.
"Now, Mauve might actually be an easier fight than Jett was; she's had a rather easy circuit up until here. Most of her opponents were a mismatch, and she one-sidedly won all of her fights so far. That's not to say you can underestimate her, though. She's quite the smart fighter,"
Mauve once more launches her whip at her opponent, who takes a step back just in case she tries to electrocute him again. Mauve, however, presses a dial that seems to switch the dust that ran through the whip.
Now, it was wind dust. Instead of coiling around the man, her whip sent a blade of air towards the man who was backing up.
Realizing the sudden shift in the situation, the man quickly brought his mace forward in an attempt to combat the air blade…
…Only for the air blade to fade a moment before impacting him, and for her whip of fire to make contact with his head, dealing a nasty blow to his Aura.
"Mauve is the kind of fighter who uses a ton of distractions."
"Can't I just…focus on her? It doesn't really seem that hard to do."
Slate pondered on this for a moment, "Well, perhaps? But I'm certain she's going to go all out to create distractions. Just saying you'll focus doesn't really mean you'll avoid getting distracted. You've got to familiarize yourself with her methods of distraction so you can recognize them as they occur."
It was like a lightbulb lit up, and Jaune had gotten the idea.
"That actually makes a lot of sense."
"Of course it does. Did you think your old man wasn't all that special? I'll have you know, I used to be one of the most-"
"-Most highly proclaimed Adventurers to ever live, yeah, you've only told me like…a trillion times!"
"Shut it, you brat! Anyway, we're getting sidetracked. Let's get back to the analysis."
The two turned back to the video, just in time to see the larger man charging Mauve down. Mauve was more or less cornered, as her back was to the wall of the arena. Instead of meeting him head-on, Mauve launched her whip towards him, a trail of water following it, creating a puddle between the two.
The larger man stopped his mad dash, growling.
"Here, you'll see Mauve is actually pretty good at completely stopping her opponent's charges. This part won't be as much of a problem for you, because of the conditions we train in. This shouldn't hamper you all that much, just remember. One good Aura burst and you'll be going too fast for the water to stop you, and another good Aura burst and you'll come to a perfect stop. Just remember not to overdo it."
The larger man made to take a step into the puddle, but Mauve once again completely halted him by sending her whip into the puddle and activating her lightning dust. The electrified puddle would be too much for him to cross and would cause more damage than it's worth.
"Now if she does that, it'd be much harder to negate for you than just the puddle."
"What could I even do if she does something like that?"
"Well…you'll know when she's setting it up, so just be faster. Your whole style is based on 'following a flow' isn't it? Do that. Follow the flow, figure her out. The faster you figure out her gimmicks, the sooner you can take her down."
"So just be faster? Look how that worked out for Jett."
"Yeah, but that was because it was you fighting him. Once you get a read on someone, you utterly crush their confidence, and Jett already had poor mental resilience. Look, I'm not telling you to just be faster. I'm telling you to look…ahead. Try to figure out what she wants to do before she does it, I guarantee it'll make your life easier."
"I'll do my best, I guess."
Mauve goes on to press another button on her whip, and steam begins to emit out of her whip. It happens so quickly and at such a volume that within seconds, she's completely out of sight. Her opponents can't quite move towards her, and he has no idea where she could be.
"Here, you'd just have to pump as much Aura as possible into your lungs and do that breathing thing. That's pretty much your best bet since it'll enhance your senses."
"Yeah, I figured I'd have to do something like that."
"It'll really help if you just focus on reacting for the first few seconds. Don't attack, just wait for an attack - and react. Then you attack whatever direction you felt the attack from."
A whip is suddenly sent towards her opponent directly out of the steam. Her whip coils around his ankle, and suddenly he's once more stunned. As he's stunned, Mauve pulls and the large man comes crashing down onto his back.
"That's something you'll have to do — watch your feet. You seriously don't wanna end up like this guy, okay?"
"Alright."
Mauve's whip suddenly retracts back into the steam, before shooting out once more and attempting to encircle the man's neck. The larger man, expecting this, grabs the whip while he can. Mauve turns on her lightning dust, but the man seems to take it without flinching this time. He quickly gets to his feet and pulls on the whip.
"You can see that her move set — while annoying — really isn't all that varied. It's worrisome, yes, but as long as you go prepared to be assaulted by any of the elements, you'll do okay."
"Can do. I'm just hoping I can catch her off guard and finish her off quickly. I don't want to let her get comfortable."
"That would be preferable, but you need to prepare for if you can't do that."
Mauve appears to have been pulled out of the steam, but before the man can pull her any closer using her whip, Mauve presses a button and her whip is shrouded in fire. The man is forced to let go, lest he be burned by the intense heat coming off of her whip. The fight is pretty clearly heading in the direction of a loss for her opponent, and Mauve pretty clearly knows this, if the smug grin she wore is any indication.
The man fighting Mauve wasn't just any pushover, but he wasn't a particular standout among the crowd when compared to the rest of the people in the tournament.
"What do you think the larger fighter is most likely to do, Jaune?"
"I'm really not sure. If I were him, I'd have to just try and tough one of her attacks out and latch onto the whip. Maybe pull her, tough the fire out, and go for a one-hit win. It's really his only chance from what we're seeing here."
"That isn't quite what I'd say. He could always just be hiding his semblance. Or. He could utilize an outward Aura burst to deflect her whip long before it ever comes near him. It's not usually all that useful in close quarters, but an Aura burst is seriously good at deflecting projectiles."
The man had, once more, started charging towards Mauve with the intention of a One-hit knockout. Mauve had, as previously done, sent her whip hurtling towards his neck. A visible burst of Aura seemed to expel from the man's body, and Mauve's whip was deflected. Normally, this would be bad for her.
But, Mauve still had some tricks up her sleeve. Mauve pressed two buttons on her whip simultaneously and once more sent her whip flying towards the man. The whip, at first, seemed to be aided by wind dust, but as water began to trail behind the whip the man's face shifted in understanding.
He stopped and brought his mace up as a large spike of Ice was sent his way. With a grunt, the man slammed his mace onto the spike, shattering it into pieces and negating its threat…only to have to attempt to back up when Mauve's whip snapped around his neck.
The man attempted a quick Aura burst to free himself, but he found that the whip simply wasn't moving - and when he felt some heat combined with a quick shock, he understood what Mauve had done.
She'd combined Fire and Lightning dust to create gravity dust, which caused the tip of her whip to fly toward the rest of it. When it was around his neck like this, it meant there was no proper escape.
The man let out a sigh at having been trounced so utterly.
"I yield."
And with those two words, the match was over.
"As you can see, Mauve is a very tricky fighter who often relies on distractions to pull off more lethal, difficult attacks. She's most certainly going to be a difficult fight. Now, depending on how you play it, it could end up easier than your last fight. But that only depends on how early you get a read on her tricks."
"So…the plan now is kind of similar to last time. Figure out her gimmicks and counter before she can pull them off?"
"Essentially, yes. But this time, we're going in with a lot more information on her than you had with Jett. Jett was just generally fast so it was hard to pinpoint something to look out for, but you can learn Mauve's move set before you even fight."
"Right…guess that's what we'll be focusing on for the next few hours?"
"Right you are, my son. Now—we have a couple more of these tapes we should get to. Get comfortable Jaune, we're not leaving until you know every little move she can use."
Jaune's only response to that was to let out a groan and sink further into the couch.
I…seriously wasn't expecting to write all that. Enjoy this behemoth, because this is probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Hope y'all enjoyed it!
Tournament Arc isn't finished just yet, so stay on your toes!
Will Jaune claim victory? Will he taste defeat? Nobody knows – we'll all find out together in the next chapter.
God, that was a lot of action to write.
Feel free to leave a review! Or don't. All is good, really. See y'all next chapter!